Multiethnic arts festival fights stigma of mental health issues

June 23, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 12:28 p.m.

1 of 8

Miguel Patino, 7, of Santa Ana, center, passes the time with members of the Orange County Children Therapeutic Arts Center (OCCTAC) at MECCA's “Drawing Out Stigma Multi-ethnic Arts Festival” held at Muzeo in Anaheim. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 8

Bloom ($700), left, by artist Aktham Abdulqader of Anaheim, right, was featured at MECCA's “Drawing Out Stigma Multi-ethnic Arts Festival” held at Muzeo in Anaheim. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 8

Li Li Wei of the Orange County Dancing Club of Laguna Woods dons Mongolian attire. She waves at a passerby who looks at art work during “Drawing Out Stigma Multi-ethnic Arts Festival” held at Anaheim's Muzeo. The group later performed a Chinese folk dance. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 8

Qiuhong Li of the Orange County Dancing Club of Laguna Woods practices a Chinese folk dance before performing at Muzeo in Anaheim, California. The Multi-Ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies (MECCA) presents “Drawing Out Stigma Multi-ethnic Arts Festival” on Sunday. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 8

Trang Nguyen, left, and Thuy Trang help the Lac Hong Performing Art Group of Westminster get dressed in traditional Vietnamese wear. The group performed a Vietnamese dance at Muzeo in Anaheim. Both live in Westminster. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 8

If you don't recognize artist Sama Wareh's dress it's because it's international.The dress is from Mexico. The shirt from Russia. A wrap from Bolivia and a scarf from Syria. The hat is from Oak Glen, California. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 8

Thaotho Nguyen, 15, left, and Tammy Le, 12, admire the recycled art made of soda cans. Both live in Westminster and performed Vietnamese dance with the Lac Hong Performing Art Group of Westminster. MECCA presents “Drawing Out Stigma Multi-ethnic Arts Festival.” CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of 8

Muna Abbas of Anaheim looks at the colorful art of 100 artist displayed at Anaheim's Muzeo. MECCA presents “Drawing Out Stigma Multi-ethnic Arts Festival.” Her mom's work was one of the artist's featured. More than 700 attend the event, according to organizers. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Miguel Patino, 7, of Santa Ana, center, passes the time with members of the Orange County Children Therapeutic Arts Center (OCCTAC) at MECCA's “Drawing Out Stigma Multi-ethnic Arts Festival” held at Muzeo in Anaheim. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Mental Health in the United States

In 2011, about 45.6 million, or 19.6 percent, of adults (18 or older) in the country had any mental illness. The percentage was highest for adults aged 18 to 25 at 29.8 percent that year.

28.9 percent of American Indians or Alaska Natives were recorded to have any mental illness in 2011, followed by 28.3 percent of persons reporting two or more races, and 20.5 percent among whites.

Source: 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

ANAHEIM – As a rule in her classroom, art teacher Sama Wareh, 29, said her students, who are mainly refugees, could not use identifying symbols such as faces, flags or cultural trademarks in their pieces. Each piece – labeled not by names, but by feelings such as "happiness" and "anger" – told a part of her students' stories with lines, shapes and colors. Her students range from 14 to 67 years old.

"When you're doing non-symbolic art, you are better able to take a snapshot of what is inside you," said Wareh of Silverado Canyon, pointing at her students' artwork propped on a table.

Wareh, who taught her weekend class in April at Access California Services, an Arab and Muslim American community resource center, said her students' cultural values toward mental health may make them uncomfortable in getting the right care for their needs.

A group of ethnic community resource centers hosted an arts festival under the umbrella organization MECCA, or the Multi-ethnic Collaborative of Community Agencies, on Sunday to reduce mental health stigma among local ethnic communities. The second annual festival, which was free at the cultural arts center and museum Muzeo, featured more than 200 art pieces from student and professional artists from Arab, Iranian, Afghan, Korean, Latino, Chinese and Vietnamese communities.

Sponsored through a grant from the county health care agency, the mix of art, cultural dances and food promoted MECCA's mission to address health and development issues concerning ethnic communities and drew about 700 people, organizers said.

Miguel Gallardo, MECCA's board president and a psychology professor at Pepperdine University, said the goal of the festival was to remove the negative connotation that often exists in ethnic communities regarding mental health. He said the festival also helps shed light on resource centers in the county where people can turn to and feel comfortable speaking to someone who understands their native language and culture.

"This is about helping individuals express themselves through an artistic medium and help them get in touch with things they may be experiencing," Gallardo said.

When a car accident left Said Abdelsayed, a medical student at the time, paralyzed from the waist down, he said he turned to art for comfort when he was handed some crayons while hospitalized. Now, 37 years after the accident, the gallery artist and art therapy teacher from Yorba Linda hosts art classes in medical centers throughout Orange County.

Though he does not have any mental health issues, Abdelsayed said art can change the lives of those affected by physical and mental illness and provide relief like it did for him. His acrylic paintings were displayed at the festival among dozens by professional artists, featuring bright colors depicting Newport Beach's Back Bay, Italy, and his hometown of Cairo.

"It provides a healthy environment by getting people to communicating, talking and sharing," he said. "They will get benefits. Even if they don't do something with it now, they will see the benefits later."

Gallardo said art therapy is just one example of how MECCA addresses its community health issues. The resource centers within the organization often provide other recreational classes, counseling and other services to help make "ethnic-specific" health access and other needs easier for their target communities.

"The communities that we target continue to grow and expand," Gallardo said. "It's not necessarily about funding or programs, which already exist, but about trying to be more creative in our efforts to meet the needs of mental illness across the board. Tailoring services culturally and linguistically is better than a one-size-fits-all approach and much more effective."

Gallardo said it is also important to consider the cultural difference between medical practices of these communities when providing care. He said that members of these communities typically prefer to talk to families, a local spiritual or religious person in their community, pray or perform indigenous healing practices vs. a more Western perspective, such as seeking a medical practitioner.

Amy Chi of La Mirada, a festival volunteer, said she appreciated the festival's efforts to reach out to the community. Chi, who is a volunteer coordinator for Western Youth Services, said her sister suffered from depression while in her early teens. Though her parents did address the issue, Chi said her sister could have received help sooner if her family was more open to talking about mental health at the time. She owed cultural sensitivity to the issue to her family's Korean background.

"This puts a human face on mental health." Chi, 23, said about the festival. "It is shared humanity, regardless of ethnicity or race."

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.